I'm New Here
by Amaranth O'Riley
Summary: Blaine's followed Kurt to McKinley, where he'll be introduced to the insanity that is New Directions. A series of Blaine's moments at William McKinley High School.


_**Summary: **Blaine's followed Kurt to McKinley, where he'll be introduced to the insanity that is New Directions. A series of Blaine's moments at William McKinley High School._

**I'm New Here**

He always knew Kurt wouldn't stay. Not at Dalton, where conformity was practically forced upon the students. Not when he would be forced into a uniform every single day, forced to blend in, to look exactly like everyone else. That's not who Kurt was. He _couldn't_ conform, _couldn't _blend in. Now when he was so obviously born to stand out.

_He hadn't harbored a secret hope that _he _could be a good enough reason for Kurt to stay._

So, in hindsight, he always knew Kurt would eventually go back to McKinley. He always knew that, once Karofsky was gone for good, Kurt's friends would convince him to return. He knew, as soon as Kurt casually mentioned last June that his tormentor had graduated. He knew Kurt wouldn't stay at Dalton. He knew he would leave. He just didn't know it would _hurt_ so much.

The first day of school in September dawned cool and brisk. The weather was perfect, the sunlight streaming through the windows in a rich golden light. This time last year, Blaine would have cheerfully risen from bed, perhaps singing along to the radio as he dressed in his Dalton uniform. But that was last year. That was before he met _Kurt. _Now, he groaned when his alarm woke him. He practically crawled from his bed and got ready in silence. When he opened his door to an empty hallway his stomach knotted.

_He hadn't been secretly wishing that Kurt had changed his mind, would be standing outside with a grin and a cup of coffee, as he had so many times last year._

He trudged through the halls with lifeless eyes. Fellow students glanced at him with pity in their eyes. A few Warblers squeezed his shoulder, gave him reassuring pats on the back. When he walked into his first class of the day, the room went silent, every eye trained on him. He knew Kurt's transfer back was sad, but the way these boys were looking at him just didn't make sense. They were just _friends, _after all. He had plenty of friends, it's not like he'd be _lonely, _or anything.

_Except Wes and David never made him so happy, never made him laugh as much as Kurt had._

It was weird, going through the day without glimpsing Kurt in the hallway. Without sitting next to Kurt at Warbler's rehearsal, legs pressed against each other's, sharing secret smiles every time Wes tried to be too serious. Without playfully nudging shoulders as they returned to the dorms, talking about their classes.

_Without glances that lingered far too long to be friendly. _

When he returned to his dorm, he threw off his blazer and tie, pulling his phone from his pocket to send a quick text to Kurt, asking how his day had been. He almost resented the disappointment he felt when the reply wasn't instantaneous. Of course Kurt would be busy, he was back in Lima with his friends. He was probably with Mercedes and Tina right now, sharing a plate of mall food court french fries and laughing about something that happened in Glee.

_When his phone buzzed fifteen minutes later, he didn't dive from his desk to look at it. And he most certainly did _not _groan when the text turned out to be from David._

He was halfway through his reading for American Government when his phone buzzed again. He reached for it distractedly, but dropped his book immediately when he read Kurt's name on the Caller ID.

"Hey!" he greeted, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically.

"Hi," Kurt sounded slightly out of breath, but happy, "I'm so sorry, I haven't been paying attention to my phone _at all_, I just saw your text..."

"No, no, it's fine. How's McKinley?"

Kurt let out a soft chuckle, "The same. I mean, now that Karofsky's graduated I'm not being thrown into lockers or anything. And I haven't been slushied yet, which is nice."

"And New Directions?"

There was a pause.

"They're...good."

Another pause, then Kurt sighed, "I missed them so much. I don't think I even realized until I walked into Glee in the middle of one of Rachel's rants..."

For the next half hour, Blaine listened as Kurt recounted his day. He could hear the joy in the boy's voice as he talked about his friends in New Directions, and began to feel slightly guilty about wishing he hadn't transferred. Halfway through a story about Santana and Quinn's latest fight, Kurt cut off abruptly.

"I'm so sorry," he said, "You don't want to hear about all this, you don't even know them..."

"It's fine, Kurt. You sound...well, you sound really happy."

"I am," he paused again, before softly adding, "I miss you though."

"I...I miss you too."

They didn't say anything for some time, simply listening to the others' breath over the phone.

There was a muffled conversation in the background, and Kurt's voice crackled back on the line.

"Hey, Blaine, I'm really sorry, but Carole's calling me for dinner. I'll talk to you later?"

"Yes, of course. I'll call you tomorrow."

Blaine set his phone down. He turned to his computer, where his screensaver had switched on: a picture of him and Kurt, taken directly after Sectionals, arms thrown around each others' shoulders, grins bright and shining. He stared at it for a few moments, then grabbed his phone again.

"Mom? I have a question..."

**-.-**

Kurt had been back at McKinley for a month. He never thought he'd be so happy to be back at the school, but New Directions had a particular brand of crazy that he hadn't fully realized he needed in his life. The Warblers were great, and he really liked being friends with Blaine, but the drama of McKinley's glee club was refreshing. With the majority of his old tormentors gone—Karofsky and Azimio had both graduated—and Puck's threats to the rest of the jocks, he was left well enough alone. He had only been slushied once, and the perpetrator had immediately been pulled away by Coach Sylvester. Since then, he hadn't been touched.

He was happy back at McKinley, really. But he did miss Blaine. They had seen each other over the summer a few times, but Blaine had been in Europe for six weeks and Kurt had gone with his family to Florida for two weeks, so they hadn't had time for more than a movie or two. Since school had started, they really hadn't been able to hang out. Their schedules conflicted every weekend, and the two hour drive was too long to make on a weekday. They still spoke on the phone nearly every night, but it wasn't the same as seeing him every day. But Blaine was at Dalton, and Kurt was at McKinley, and they would just have to deal with that. Kurt would have to deal with it.

Which is why he didn't spare a second thought when he heard two cheerleaders in Geometry gossiping about a new student. Or glance back when he spotted a flash of dark curly hair on the staircase. He did, however, turn around when he heard someone cough lightly and speak familiar words.

"Excuse me, can I ask you a question? I'm new here."


End file.
